In wetlands, photos show a wild side

To photographer and Arlington resident Harvey Cote, Arlington’s Great Meadows – a 183-acre natural area located, despite its name, in Lexington – is more than just a pretty picture.

Margaret Smith

To photographer and Arlington resident Harvey Cote, Arlington’s Great Meadows – a 183-acre natural area located, despite its name, in Lexington – is more than just a pretty picture.

For Cote, who has spent years visiting and photographing the sanctuary, it’s an oasis of time and place amid the densely populated Boston suburbs, and one that offers ever-changing visions for his camera lens.

Many of the images he has captured are displayed at Arlington Town Hall through June 30, speaking quietly to what Cote sees as the agreeable nature of nature.

“I find that photographing meadows, grass, wildflowers, rocks and other forms in their disordered patterns can become magical in a moment as the light changes,” Cote says in his artist’s statement.

Great Meadows has served as open space since 1972, when the refuge, which is mostly wetlands, was purchased by the town of Arlington as part of the water supply system, according to a town-issued report.

Despite its proximity to all manner of busy life, including condominiums, two schools and a nursing center, it remains a place of calm and inspiration, even as the cycle of seasons continually brings something new.

As Cote observes: “Within the random chaos of untamed wilderness I look for the order that lies within the disorder – the essence of nature’s beauty.”

The exhibit is free to the public. For more information, call 781-643-9182.